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Kathmamdu: Improving roads and trails in mountainous regions of Nepal can enhance food security and nutrition for remote rural communities, according to a report released here on Friday.

The report “Road and Market Access and Household Food Security in Nepal” was launched by World Food Program (WFP) to raise awareness on the impact of improved road and trail infrastructure on household food security.

WFP said the study found that improved infrastructure including rural roads, trails and bridges can serve to unlock different livelihood opportunities, and improve food security for remote mountain communities.

“Most mountain communities across Nepal cannot grow enough to meet more than a few months of their household food needs. Food carried by hand and by mule up mountain trails costs three times more than it did in its origins in the Terai,” Pippa Bradford, WFP’s Country Director in Nepal said in the statement.

She also added that 60 percent of children in mountain communities do not get enough nutritious food to eat, who will have to live with life-long effects of stunting and under-nutrition.

“In areas where people were able to access markets more quickly and easily, households spent more money on non-staple food, and had more diverse and nutritious diets, reducing the likelihood of stunting among children,” the statement said.

The WFP has been working to expand access by improving roads and trails in several districts of Nepal, focusing in rural and hard-to-reach regions of the country.